Boxing
Leigh Wood: Josh Warrington’s resentment battle ‘could be my last’
Published
7 months agoon
Leigh Wood says he could have ended his career happily if he had used the style of rival Josh Warrington on Saturday.
Wood (28-4, 17 KO), 37, will face another former featherweight world champion Warrington (32-4-1, 8 KO) in a rematch at the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham following Warrington’s Round 7 stoppage in October 2023.
Warrington believes their first fight was stopped prematurely, while Wood is upset by Warrington’s criticism of his Round 9 defeat to Anthony Cacace last May.
As well as silencing Warrington in their non-junior lightweight title fight, Wood is desperate to improve after a painful night against Cacace and possibly end his career with a large win in front of his hometown fans.
“I’m winning this fight and that doesn’t mean I’m underestimating him, but no matter which way he wants to fight, I’ll have an answer to it and the fight won’t last long,” Wood told ESPN.
“I’m not looking back on this fight, but it could be my last one. After the fight, I’ll look at the landscape. I’m not really thinking about what might be next because right now I’m focused on the prize.”
“We don’t like each other, that’s sincere. Whichever way he wants to do it, whether he hits right at me or tries to box me, I’m prepared for it. He can change his timing, but he can’t change his style, and his style suits me. It’s fine with me.”
Wood’s coach Ben Davison threw in the towel when Northern Ireland player Cacace started firing unanswered shots in Round 9 to seal a disgusting defeat for Wood.
Wood, who reigned twice as the WBA featherweight world champion from 2022 to 2023, claims he is in better condition than before the Cacace fight, which comes after a 19-month layoff.
Warrington, a two-time IBF featherweight world champion (2018-2021, 2022), has lost three of his last four fights and even briefly retired in September 2024 after a loss to Cacace.
“I had some good and bad nights at the Nottingham Arena and the last fight wasn’t to my taste stylistically,” Wood told ESPN.
“But this fight is really in my favor and I will look good. Before the Cacace fight, I had a huge break, I had a grave illness that I had for nine months and I was gaining weight. I have always faced challenges, but considering all this, maybe it was a step too far.
“I’ve already dealt with the illness and I’ve had a great camp. I’ve sparred really well and I’m usually not the best at sparring. I can’t wait to get there and do a better job this time. I have to win this fight. He discredited me in some of the things he said, I’ll do a better job.”
The lessons of Brendan Ingle are fresh in Leigh Wood’s mind
Wood is aiming to repeat the level he achieved in victories over Can Xu, Michael Conlan, Mauricio Lara and Warrington. Wood’s career is slowly taking off after turning professional at a leisure center four miles from Nottingham city center where he fights on Saturday.
As his career comes to an end, Wood appreciates the influence of trainer Brendan Ingle on his boxing journey. Wood trained at a Sheffield gym with Ingle, who recently starred in the film “Giant,” about his relationship with Naseem Hamed, the featherweight champion from 1995 to 2000.
“I’ve changed a lot since my debut and I’ve been through a lot,” Wood told ESPN.
“But Brendan Ingle told me early on that you have to gain your experience, I’ve been through it, I’ve had ups and downs and I’ve bounced back from setbacks.
“I was with Brendan for about 10 years, he taught me a lot of things and made me believe in myself, and outside of boxing he taught me a lot of life lessons.
“While I was there, there were some really good people coming through the gym like Johnny Neslon, Kell Brook, Kid Galahad and Junior Witter. It was an incredible place to learn and learn the craft at that time, and Brendan gave me some unusual training exercises. Those were good lessons.”
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Boxing
Roy Jones Jr Declares New KO Artist the Next Canelo: Fans Eager for Fight
Published
7 hours agoon
September 23, 2026
Roy Jones Jr has named one fighter as the “new Canelo” and, by extension, considers them to be the ‘face of boxing’.
Some might argue that Canelo Alvarez remains boxing’s biggest commercial star but, with the 36-year-old approaching retirement, the sport is surely crying out for another mainstream attraction to take his place.
It is also unusual for the four-division world champion that, by the end of this year, he will not have fought on Cinco de Mayo or Mexican Independence Day weekend.
Instead, occupying the latter date earlier this month was Ryan Garciawho retained his WBC world title with a second-round stoppage of Conor Benn, taking his record to 21 knockouts from 26 victories, with just two defeats.
In doing so, the 28-year-old has kept himself in the mix for unification matches with Teofimo Lopez and Devin Haney but, until such fights materialise, he seems eager to remain active and defend his welterweight belt.
As far as a next opponent goes, Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz has been mentioned as a possible option following his emphatic sixth-round knockout of Nestor Bravo last weekendand it seems that pound-for-pound legend Jones would enjoy that clash.
That is because Jones has told All The Smoke Boxing that Garcia-Cruz is a stylistically similar matchup to Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier.
“Ryan is the new Canelo – everybody wants to see Ryan.
“[Cruz] has the style – the perfect style – that you want to see against Ryan. Ryan’s a classic boxer-puncher; Pitbull is a brawler-puncher. That’s Ali and Frazier, almost.
“Who would not, on planet Earth, want to see that fight?”
“Ryan is the new Canelo!”
Roy makes the case for Pitbull Cruz vs Ryan Garcia being one of the most exciting fights to make in boxing 🎟️👊 pic.twitter.com/PWVwO68sTj
— ALL THE SMOKE Boxing (@atsboxing) September 22, 2026
While Cruz is, indeed, a tenacious brawler-puncher, the 5ft 4in super-lightweight would be contending with a glaring size disadvantage if he moves up to 147lbs and faces Garcia.
Boxing
Heavyweight Brothers Aim to Dominate Boxing Like the Klitschkos
Published
7 hours agoon
September 23, 2026
A pair of German prospects hope to follow in the footsteps of Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko, who became the first brothers to simultaneously reign as world heavyweight champions.
The two highly-decorated Ukrainians achieved this feat between 2008 and 2013, after Vitali reclaimed his WBC title by dethroning Samuel Peter with an eighth-round finish.
‘Dr. Ironfist’ would then retire from the sport and pursue his political career, while Wladimir became the longest-reigning world heavyweight champion in history before losing to Tyson Fury in 2015.
While holding all four major titles between them, though, the Klitschko brothers established themselves as a dominant force and became mainstream celebrities in Germany.
Since then, the German boxing scene has struggled to generate such widespread attention but, now, over a decade later, Ismet Ademi (24) and Endrit Ademi (21) are bidding to emulate the Klitschko duo.
With seven national titles between them, the pair turned professional earlier this year and caught the eye of several promoters in the UK and US.
It can now be revealed, however, that the Ademi brothers have inked multi-year deals with Ringside Zone, who considers itself the leading boxing promotional outfit in Germany.
With Ismet returning to action on October 10, the 1-0 (1 KO) prospect explained that he and younger brother Endrit, 2-0 (2 KOs), would rather establish themselves on home soil than chase opportunities overseas.
“My brother and I had massive offers from abroad, but Germany is our home and this is where we want to build our legacy.
“Ringside Zone has already shown they can put German fighters in world title fights, and that mattered to us. We made a promise to each other years ago that we would become world champions together – signing here is another step toward keeping it.”
With lofty plans for the future, the Ademi brothers make for intriguing additions to the heavyweight scene as they aim to eventually reach world level and reach the heights that the Klitschko brothers once did.
Boxing
Muhammad Ali Names Boxings Greatest: He Was the Greatest
Published
8 hours agoon
September 23, 2026
Muhammad Ali once revealed who he believed to be the pound-for-pound greatest fighter of all time.
Ali is arguably the biggest name to ever grace boxing, becoming a global cultural figure not just for what he accomplished inside of the ring, but also for his activism efforts outside of it.
He was a three-time world heavyweight champion, and claimed wins in a number of epic battles, including the ‘Rumble In The Jungle’ against George Foremanand the ‘Thrilla In Manila’ against Joe Frazier.
Ali finished with a record of 56 wins from his 61 professional bouts, and despite all of his success, Ali conceded that another man ranked above him as the number one fighter in boxing history, admitting that he feels Sugar Ray Robinson is deserving of that honour.
“That man was beautiful. Timing, speed, reflexes, rhythm, his body, everything was beautiful.
“I’d say I’m the greatest heavyweight of all time, but pound-for-pound, I still say Sugar Ray Robinson was the greatest of all time.”
Robinson competed professionally from 1940 to 1965, having a remarkable 201 fights during that time, winning 174 of them. At his peak, Robinson once had a record of 129 wins from 132 fights, with 85 of those wins coming by knockout.
He went on a 91-fight unbeaten streak during that time, as he held the world welterweight title for five years, before becoming world middleweight champion on multiple occasions.
Ali isn’t the only boxing legend that believes Robinson is the best ever, with fellow heavyweight icon Mike Tyson also sharing the same view.
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